Are bike & ped projects being included in project lists for proposed $8 billion Missouri transportation funding?
Twenty-five of MoDOT's regional transportation planning partners across Missouri are starting to prioritize project lists for the proposed 1 cent sales tax for transportation.
Are bicycle and pedestrian projects included in these lists? Are bike/ped projects receiving the priority they need and their fair share of funding?
Because MoDOT has been prohibited by the Missouri constitution from spending state highway fund dollars on bicycling, walking, and transit, planning for these modes has been harder for the regional transportation planning agencies--they have been forced to make due with a combination of local and federal transportation funds.
Simply the fact that bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects are allowed projects under the proposed new funding rules should make a huge difference.
But does it?
St. Joseph MPO's proposed project list shows how bicycling, walking, and transit should be integrated into our state's transportation priorities
If the draft project list recently release for public comment by the Greater St Joseph Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is any indication, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects are receiving a far greater amount of attention than they ever have before.
It remains to be seen what the other 24 Missouri planning agencies will do, but the St. Joseph MPO's list looks like a model of what local transportation planning agencies should be doing for our state's traditionally neglected transit, bicycling, and walking systems:
- The list prominently includes several key bicycling, walking, trails, and safe routes to school projects and prioritizes some of them very highly. Projects include portions of the regional trails system and segments of the Quad States Trail system through the region
- The list gives attention to complete streets elements as part of nearly all road projects. In fact, it is hard to find a road project that doesn't include Complete Streets elements--sidewalks, bike lanes, bike routes, transit stops, or simply shoulders.
- The list demonstrates a generally comprehensive and multi-modal approach to transportation planning. We're not just talking about roads and highways any more--it's far more about transportation that meets the needs of all residents.
At a quick glance through the list, just counting the number of projects, it looks as though a huge emphasis is being placed on bicycle, pedestrian, and trails project.
But a closer look shows that most of the the bicycle and pedestrian projects have very small budgets compared with road, highway, and interchange projects. The bicycle, pedestrian, and trails projects are generally low budget but have a large impact--a very high return on investment.
Will MoDOT's District and Statewide priority lists reflect these same values?
The St. Joseph MPO, which has very close ties to local communities and neighborhoods, has naturally put a strong emphasis on these projects that create connectivity and access for people who walk, bicycle, and use transit for daily transportation.
However, the St. Joseph MPO's priorities are far from the final project list.
The real test will come as these local MPO priorities are prioritized at the MoDOT District level with other priorities from rural areas within the District, and then priotized again as all the MoDOT Districts combine their priority lists to create the final statewide list.
MoDOT's new long-range plan has indicated a major change in the agency's transportation priorities.
Creation of this statewide priority project list will be the first real test of MoDOT's new-found commitment to transit, bicycling, walking, and other multi-modal transportation.
What can you do to help?
$8 billion in proposed Missouri transportation funding is at stake right now, as MoDOT's regional planning partners set the project list for the next ten years of transportation funding.
What can you do to help?
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